After all, out of 300 wines in the world that the American has ranked as perfect in his famed 100-point rating system, 204 have been French.

And if quality is indeed reflected in price, the Italian premier seems wrong again. According to Wine Searcher's ranking of the 50 most expensive wines in the world, 38 of the top 50 are from France. Italy can boast none.

For the record, the number one place went to the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, which sells for an average price of $13,166.

A glass of red wine at the Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte vineyard in Leognan, southwestern France.

But wine experts in France think Renzi was wrong, even "stupid", to even try and compare the two.

Bert Celce, a Frenchman running the Wine Terroirs blog about wine tasting in French vineyards, says wine simply can't be measured by country.

"You can hardly compare a group of wines 'nation per nation' as each time it's a different story when you drink a particular wine," he tells The Local.

He added that French wine wasn't better in general, either.

"If a French minister ever said French wines are better, I would find that very stupid because wine production in France is a mixed bag, there are a lot of uninteresting wines alongside the great stuff," he said.

"That might be the same for the Italian wine scene, I don't really know. Most, if not all, French politicians who speak about the 'French wines' in general don't fully grasp the different level of quality beyond the the AOC (the origin); they're more into branding, I think."

Chrissie McClatchi, who runs the Riviera Grapevine blog, agrees that it's close to impossible to stack the two nations' wines against each other.

"Italian wine is fascinating for its diversity, for their grape varieties that you can't find anywhere else," she told The Local.

"And when the Italians try their hand at traditional French varieties, such as in Tuscany with the SuperTuscans, they rival the best of Bordeaux," she added.

"French wine, on the other hand, is classic. To me, it still is the benchmark for quality and reflection of terroir that most other winemaking countries seek to emulate... you only need to look at Champagne really to appreciate this."

She added that while Italy could boast "a voyage into the exotic", she'd still prefer something from France.

"There's nothing quite like a dry, refreshing Côtes de Provence rosé on a hot summer afternoon no matter where in the world you are. No one does rosé like France, even the Italians," she said.

While it may be a futile game to try and compare the wines of two different countries, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy them both.